


Lettuce Do This!

by HongBining



Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Comedy, Fluff, M/M, especially sanghyuk, hongbin is bitter all the time but he loves his coworkers so it's okay, its only hyuk thou, sandwich shop au, sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-11 13:54:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7895185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HongBining/pseuds/HongBining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hongbin suffers Every Day at his job. At least he has Sanghyuk there to suffer with him.</p><p>-A Sandwich Shop AU-</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Of Stupidity and Forgotten House Keys

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a writing prompt I found and my eternal love for the six beautiful & idiotic members of VIXX.

**MONDAY**

 

The clock strikes 10:55am.

 

Hongbin lets out a heavy sigh as he flips the sign from ‘closed to open.’

 

Another day at Starlight Subs. Another _Monday_.

 

And Mondays are the absolute _worst_.

 

Hongbin wonders why he even took this job.

 

And then he remembers why; it’s because of Sanghyuk.

 

* * *

 

They were out on one of their morning walks when they passed by the local sandwich shop, Starlight Subs. They'd both seen it many times, but today on the front door was a huge sign in bold letters reading, ‘HELP WANTED.’

 

Sanghyuk is the first to notice.

 

“Whoa! Look at this sign!” he says, dragging Hongbin’s arm to get a closer look.

 

Hongbin’s eyebrows furrowed. “What about it?” he puzzles.

 

“We should both go apply for jobs!”

 

“ _What??_ ”

 

Having just graduated from university, Hongbin wanted to hit the ground running and jumpstart his career as a photojournalist.

 

But unfortunately, such a job was scarce on the market. He had quite a lot of searching to do, which was likely to take a while.

 

On the other hand, Sanghyuk still had a year left of school to go, striving to complete his graphic design major.

 

They live together in an apartment located in the middle of the city, about a short drive away from the university campus.

 

They’ve been dating for about three years now, having met at the university library, but only started living together a little less than a year ago.

 

And in that time, they’ve gotten to know the ins and outs of each other pretty well.

 

Immediately, Hongbin reads the expression on Sanghyuk’s face. His eyes widen.

 

“Honey. _No._ _I_ don’t have time, and you _definitely_ don’t have time. Won’t it be hard juggling this along with your final academic year?”

 

“I mean, _maybe_ , but look! It says the hours are _flexible_! We can be flexible!”

 

Hongbin assesses the sign, beginning to think about the idea of having a part time job.

 

It could be good for them. It would hold him over until he found a photojournalist opening, and it would keep Sanghyuk busy when he wasn’t too loaded with coursework.

 

They could put their earnings towards paying the bills, buying groceries, and other things.

 

Other things, like dates! Dates are fun!

 

Hongbin makes a decision. He turns to Sanghyuk, who has been looking over at him with huge, puppy dog eyes this whole time.

 

He smiles, and takes Sanghyuk by the hand.

 

“Alright. Let’s go in and apply for a job,” he says. “I’m sure something can work out for us.”

 

“Yay!” Sanghyuk squeals. “You’re the best!” He presses a quick kiss to Hongbin’s cheek.

 

Hongbin blushes.

 

“Sheesh, you’re so _weird_ ,” he says, opening the door and leading them in.

 

And with that, Hongbin and Sanghyuk scored themselves part time jobs at Starlight Subs.

 

* * *

 

Hongbin hears a crash sound, followed by a high pitched shout of:

 

“ _SANGHYUK!_ YOU DROPPED THE TOMATOES!”

 

He turns around. No one’s there with him, so he shrugs and figures the sound came from the basement.

 

The basement is accessed via stairs through a door behind the sandwich counter, off-limits to the customers (not like anyone would want to go down there anyway).

 

There, all the food is stored and refrigerated if necessary. It took Hongbin about two weeks to memorize the inventory and their respective locations. On the left, top shelf, are the condiments. On the right, middle shelf, are the crates of vegetables. He knows _all of it._

 

He also happens to know that there’s an empty space in the corner that’s _perfect_ for secret make-out sessions with Sanghyuk in between their sandwich stacking.

 

Hongbin is proud to say that he’s the one who figured that one out.

 

At this moment, Sanghyuk emerges from the basement door pouting, followed by an enraged Wonshik.

 

Wonshik is the cashier and deli manager for Starlight Subs. He’s probably the most hardworking of the staff, aside from Hakyeon, the restaurant's operations manager.

 

Every day, he keeps track of their stock, ordering anything more if necessary and checking if any products reached their expiration date.

 

Wonshik has an exasperated expression on his face. “ _Sanghyuk_ ,” he chides. “Haven’t I told you to be more careful when we’re moving the food around?”

 

“The crate was slippery!” Sanghyuk says defensively. “I was trying to carry it and it sort of just, you know, _fell_.”

 

Wonshik emits a groan. “Now they’re all going to be bruised,” he sighs, returning to the basement door and slamming it shut behind him.

 

Hongbin likes Wonshik, he truly does, but at times like these he could become overly dramatic and irrational.

 

“Oh no. What a _travesty_ ,” Hongbin mumbles under his breath. “It’s not like those were the world’s last tomatoes.”

 

“Yeah, seriously. There’s like, three more boxes of them downstairs,” Sanghyuk says, walking towards Hongbin who’s still by the front door.

 

Hongbin chuckles. He slings an arm over Sanghyuk, who leans his head on his shoulder and lets out a content hum.

 

He’s glad he can enjoy a moment of peace before the customers begin trickling in. The calm before the storm, as they say.

 

Suddenly, he remembers something.

 

“Hey, uh, babe?”

 

Sanghyuk lifts his head up to see Hongbin’s panicked expression.

 

“Did you, um, did you take your keys to the apartment with you before leaving?”

 

“Did I wha--oh, oh _no_.”

 

Sanghyuk begins to frantically pat down all the pockets on his clothing, from his pants to his shirt to his work apron, but nothing.

 

“Aw, hell. I left it on the nightstand.”

 

“Seriously!? _So did I!”_

 

“ _Wait_ , wait wait. Hold on. You mean to tell me that the _both_ of us left _both_ our keys on the _same_ nightstand.”

 

Hongbin’s shoulders drop.

 

“ _Whyyyyyyyyyyyy_ ,” he whines, putting his hands in his face. “Whyyyy are we so _stuuupid.”_

 

Sanghyuk begins clicking his tongue as he takes out his phone.

 

“I’ll go call the landlord,” he mutters.

 

* * *

 

An hour has gone by since opening. Hongbin has served a total of two customers, one asking for a turkey and swiss on rye and another for a BLT with ham on a baguette.

 

After calling the landlord, Sanghyuk had to drive back to the apartment (luckily, only 10 minutes away) so he could pay the fee for it to be unlocked.

 

Just to make sure he doesn’t forget, Hongbin sends him a quick text once he’s rang up the second customer.

 

**_To : Han Sanghyuk <3 _ **

**_Sent : 11:42 am_ **

**_Keys!!!!!! Keys keys keys keys KEYS_ **

 

He gets a response back of a dog sticker giving a thumbs up, so he figures it’s all good.

 

Hongbin starts to hum a Park Hyo Shin song to himself as he sees Jaehwan, the shift manager, come out from the managing office at the far end of the shop (also off limits to the customers, like the basement).

 

“Is Sanghyuk back yet?” he asks, reaching behind the counter to grab a cucumber slice.

 

Hongbin shakes his head no. “Nah, but he should be here soon,” he replies, swatting Jaehwan’s hand away as he tries going for another.

 

“Those are for the _sandwiches_ , you _fiend_ ,” he hisses.

 

Jaehwan merely cackles as he takes one more anyway and skips back to the managing office.

 

How that tiny space in the back could be utilized by three different managers, Hongbin would never know.

 

He likes to think they each have a designated corner to themselves, and the middle of the room is their neutrality zone where discussions on the shop’s productivity and staff take place.

 

Jaehwan, the shift leader ( _technically,_ he's a manager too), made sure the staff was running smoothly at all times. Hongbin and Sanghyuk were told to report to him if they had complications and couldn't come in for a day.

 

Taekwoon, the store manager, assisted Wonshik to make sure all the food was top notch. He also kept track of sandwich sales, arranging the worker salaries and hours, and hiring new employees. At first, Hongbin and Sanghyuk were thrown off by his quiet and seemingly intimidating nature, but they learned in about a week that he's actually a huge softie and wouldn't hurt a fly.

 

Hakyeon, the operations manager, made sure everything and everyone was in tip top shape 24/7, 365. He was warm and friendly to the customers and the employees, so Hongbin and Sanghyuk haven't had any major issues working under him.

 

All in all, Hongbin gets along with his colleagues well. The genuine camaraderie of the staff makes working significantly more bearable.

 

Just then, the front door opens and in comes the shop’s third customer of the day. Hongbin assumes he's a businessman, from the suit he was dressed in and leather knapsack slung over his shoulder.

 

He analyzes the menu before turning to Hongbin and asking, “Do you serve salads here?”

 

Hongbin stares at him dumbly. “Uh, no sir, we don't serve salads here.”

 

“Then what could _those_ possibly be for?” The man points to the assortment of vegetables laid out in front of Hongbin.

 

“Well, you see here, sir, those are toppings for the sandwiches.”

 

What part of their restaurant name, Starlight _Subs_ , did he not understand?

 

“We only serve _sandwiches_ here,” Hongbin reiterates.

 

The man _still_ can't seem to understand.

 

“Are those not appropriate ingredients for a _salad_?”

 

 _Jesus Christ._ Did he have to spell it out for him?

 

Hongbin forces a smile. “Yes, they are,” he says, as nicely as he can manage. “But I have _not_ been trained to prepare a salad. I _have_ been trained to prepare _sandwiches_ , so therefore that's the only food we can serve you here.”

 

“ _OR_ , you can try our special for today, the Triple S! Salad Sandwich Supreme!”

 

Hongbin shoots around and sees Sanghyuk standing behind him. He probably just got in through the back entrance, and Hongbin clearly hadn’t noticed since he was too busy talking to the human equivalent of a brick wall.

 

He leans in to Hongbin, whispering, “Let me take it from here.”

 

Hongbin stands back and watches Sanghyuk work his charm.

 

“You can choose 3 greens, 2 vegetables, your bread, and 1 meat for a grand total of 10,000 won!”

 

“Whoa. 10,000?” the man asks. “Seems pricey.”

 

“Everything here is organic,” Sanghyuk explains (although it's not 100% true). “It's a high price, but it only because it's high quality!”

 

He gives him a thumbs up and a bright smile. The same smile that wins Hongbin over _all the time_ , so there was no doubt it would work its magic now

 

The man thinks it over, and finally, he agrees. Sanghyuk swiftly assembles the customer’s sandwich and he pays the 10,000 won for it (with a tip!) and he happily bids farewell, finally out of their lives forever (or at least for the day).

 

Once he's gone, Hongbin turns to Sanghyuk, who’s beaming with a look of sheer pride on his face.

 

“That was amazing.”

 

Sanghyuk smirks. “I know.”

 

Hongbin wraps his hands around Sanghyuk’s waist.

 

He adds, “That was the _sexiest_ thing you’ve ever done.”

 

“Oh, really?” Sanghyuk laughs. “Watching me make up fake menu items and selling overpriced sandwiches?”

 

Hongbin nods, leaning in so now he's centimeters away from Sanghyuk’s face.

 

He's about to go for it when the basement door behind them opens and they both turn to see Wonshik standing there, a box labeled ‘chickpeas’ propped against his hip.

 

“Jeez you guys, no PDA until _after hours_ ,” he says. He scrunches his nose and makes an audible ‘eeuuugh’ noise.

 

Sanghyuk giggles. “He's right, wait until we get back home. We still have a whole shift ahead of us,” he says with a wink, reaching out to lightly poke Hongbin’s nose.

 

Hongbin rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re right,” he says, but pulls Sanghyuk in anyways and gives him a kiss.

 


	2. Leader Knows Best

**TUESDAY**

 

“You have to select your bread first, m’am.”

 

“What?”

 

7:45pm. 15 minutes to closing time.

 

Hongbin wants nothing more than to go home and finish watching the nature documentary on penguins he’d started with Sanghyuk last night.

 

But here he was, serving the final customer of the day, a _teenager_ , who he has to address as _m’am_ , even though it’s clear that he’s the older one.

 

And it’s also clear that she has no idea how to order.

 

“You asked for your toppings first, which were turkey, cucumber, onions, lettuce, tomato, sriracha, and pickles,” he lists. “You were supposed to select the bread first.”

 

“Hmm, okay, wow look at all these options. Okay, okay, give me a few minutes.”

 

Hongbin has to deal with this order all by himself. Sanghyuk can’t save him today since he's been put on basement cleaning duty.

 

“Do I _have_ to choose a bread?” she asks as Wonshik emerges from the managing office and tries to stifle a laugh at her question.

 

He grabs a broom from the corner so he can casually stay behind and sweep while witnessing how the rest of the order plays out.

 

Hongbin is trying his best to keep a friendly demeanor.

 

He says to her, “Yes, you do, it’s essential to the sandwich.”

 

She thinks it over before replying, “Oh, okay.”

 

“Take your time,” he says, regretting it immediately. He turns to Wonshik with an expression that reads, _Please kill me, right now._ Wonshik merely chuckles.

 

Five more minutes pass.

 

Finally, she points in the general direction of the breads and says, “That one.”

 

“Which one?” Hongbin asks from behind the counter. “I can’t tell which one you’re pointing at.”

 

She rolls her eyes. “The _brown_ one.”

 

Hongbin feels like he could cry.

 

“But, _which one?_ ”

 

“That one!”

 

It looks like she’s pointing to the pita bread. Hongbin gingerly reaches for it, and when she doesn’t say anything in opposition, he begins to assemble the sandwich.

 

He’s added everything but the lettuce and sriracha when she speaks up again.

 

“Whoa, isn’t that a lot? Like, for a sandwich, I mean?”

 

Hongbin looks at it. It’s barely full; there’s a lot of room to add more toppings if she’d wanted.

 

He decides against suggesting this, since it would only waste more of his time waiting on her decisions.

 

“No, this is normal,” he replies. _Please let me finish so you can pay and leave and I can go home._

 

“Are you _sure?_ ”

 

“Yes, I am sure.”

 

Hongbin hastily grabs the aluminum foil from behind him and wraps the sandwich up like a present.

 

And it looks _beautiful._ Not a single scrap of the foil wasted. He should participate in sandwich wrapping contests, if those even existed.

 

“Your total is 7000 won,” he says, handing over the sandwich as the girl fumbles for her wallet and pays.

 

She hands over an extra 1000 note by accident. Hongbin ever so kindly gives it back rather than keeping it for himself.

 

“Have a nice evening!” he calls as she makes her way to the exit.

 

She waves goodbye to him and Wonshik, who says goodbye back as he sweeps underneath the tables.

 

The door opens, closes, and she’s gone.

 

Hongbin sprawls out on the counter, arms spread out like a bird’s wingspan.

 

He has his head down as he lets out a loud “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH.”

 

Wonshik drops the broom and lets out a hearty laugh in response to Hongbin's anguish.

 

“What a dunce. I don’t think that person knows how sandwiches work,” he jokes.

 

Sanghyuk comes up from the basement wielding a mop and a bucket. He glances over at Hongbin, then looks at Wonshik, who still has an amused look on his face.

 

He puts the mop in the bucket and sets it down before going to comfort Hongbin.

 

“Rough day, my love?” he asks, rubbing circles on his back with his index finger.

 

“Just a rough last customer,” Hongbin grumbles, still facedown on the counter.

 

He lets out a sigh before finally picking himself up.

 

Hongbin explains, “She asked me if she _had_ to choose a bread. I was like, it’s literally a _sandwich,_ of course you do you _imbecile._ And then she stopped me when she thought I was overstuffing the sandwich. So then I was like, sandwiches are _supposed t_ o be stuffed , otherwise _what’s the point?_ ” he concludes.

 

Sanghyuk raises an eyebrow.

 

“Seriously? I don't think anyone is _that_ airheaded.”

 

“Honey, believe me,” Hongbin begs. “This _actually_ happened.”

 

He points at Wonshik. “You were there!” he says. “Tell him I’m not making this up!”

 

Wonshik nods. “It was hilarious,” he recalls. “She was so confused!”

 

Sanghyuk reaches over to squeeze Hongbin’s hand.

 

“You always get the difficult ones, don’t you?” he laughs.

 

“So do you,” Hongbin reminds him, squeezing his hand back. “You just handle them better than I do.”

 

"I know," Sanghyuk gloats. "But it doesn't matter now, let's just go clean up."

 

* * *

  

They’re nearly ready to close up for the day when Hakyeon bursts out of the managing office, accompanied by Taekwoon and Jaehwan.

 

“Staff meeting!” he announces. Jaehwan lets out a whoop, and Taekwoon simply nods.

 

The other three let out a groan.

 

* * *

 

 

Staff meetings usually involve moving the restaurant tables around so they form a makeshift conference area, where the six of them discuss matters that involve all of them.

 

The last staff meeting was about three months ago, when Hakyeon discovered the bathroom toilet had flooded.

 

He knew for sure it was one of his employees, because "We never blame the customer!” is what he'd made a point of saying.

 

“What if it _was_ a customer?” Hongbin pointed out. “I saw like, three people go in there today.”

 

He paused, then cleared his throat. “Separately, just to confirm.”

 

Hakyeon shoots a glare at Hongbin.

 

“You seem very sure of this. Are you sure _you_ aren't the one who should be held responsible?”

 

“I’m sure! It wasn’t me!” he defends, raising his hands up.

 

He crosses his arms. “Hongbin, I have a feeling it was _you_.”

 

Hakyeon sways the whole staff into siding with him. Everyone believes Hongbin is the culprit. Including Sanghyuk.

 

He says, “Well, it’s not like this would be your first time. Remember when we first moved into the apartment and you--”

 

Hongbin quickly covers Sanghyuk’s mouth with his hand.

 

“ _NO NEED TO BRING THAT UP. I DO VERY WELL REMEMBER,_ ” he whispers through gritted teeth.

 

Hongbin’s face had turned crimson out of embarrassment. Wonshik tries to conceal his laughter at the sight of it.

 

He’s standing now, hands raised, begging for mercy.

 

“For the love of everything that is pure, guys, I didn’t do it!”

 

Jaehwan shakes his head.  “All the signs are pointing to you, though,” he says with a shrug.

 

After much more squabbling between employees, Taekwoon finally speaks up and announces that it was in fact _his_ doing.

 

He just hadn’t fessed up right away, because Hakyeon blaming Hongbin was just too funny and he wanted to see how long it could last before all the bickering got excessive.

 

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SOMETHING?” Hongbin said to him. “YOU COULD HAVE SAVED ME FROM ALL THIS HUMILIATION.”

 

Everyone was laughing now.

 

Taekwoon apologized by raising Hongbin’s salary for that month, so all was forgiven.

 

* * *

 

They’re sitting now in their six person conference table arrangement. Hakyeon is at one head of the table, and Taekwoon sits across from him on the other end. Jaehwan and Wonshik sit together on the left seats, and Hongbin and Sanghyuk occupy the right seats.

 

Hakyeon clears his throat.

 

“Thank you for coming here today,” he starts.

 

“I mean, we didn’t really have much of a choice,” mumbles Wonshik.

 

Hakyeon puts a finger to his mouth and tells him to shush. So he does.

 

“So, I was perusing the Starlight Subs page on ReviewSee*, and something caught my eye.”

 

He takes his phone out from his pocket and reads;

 

_“‘Great food, but what turned me off was that the employees don’t wear hairnets, which I feel is a violation of sanitation. 3 out of 5 stars.’”_

 

He turns to Hongbin and Sanghyuk. “Any thoughts?”

 

“Wait, wait wait, you’re going to make them wear _hair nets?_ ” Wonshik cuts in, laughing. “Oh my God, that’s going to be _great.”_

 

“You too, Wonshik.”

 

The laughter ceases.

 

“ _What?_ Do I _have to?”_

 

Taekwoon speaks up.

 

“Well, of course you do,” he says. “You handle the ingredients directly while you’re organizing them in the basement.”

 

“That’s right,” Jaehwan adds.

 

Wonshik leans back in his chair, pouting.

 

“I think this is vital to the hygiene of Starlight Subs,” Hakyeon says. “It’s something we should be doing.”

 

“But, why was this never a thing before?” Sanghyuk asks. “It took a 3 out of 5 stars review for you to realize this was a necessity?”

 

Hongbin says, “Yeah, explain yourself.”

 

Hakyeon sighs. “It never really occurred to me before, honestly,” he admits sheepishly. “But thanks to this review, I realized we need to make some changes around here to the work uniforms.”

 

“I mean, I guess so,” says a disgruntled Hongbin. “But this is kind of dumb. Like, would we even be having this meeting right now if you didn’t read anything?”

 

The room goes momentarily quiet.

 

“Well...I guess not,” Hakyeon mutters, clenching his fists. “There’s just so much going on, I forget about the little things sometimes, okay--”

 

He lets out a huff.

 

“You know, we can focus more on this tomorrow, let’s all just go home for the day,” he snaps, pushing his chair out and leaving through the back door.

 

The remaining five sit in silence until they hear Hakyeon’s car start up and eventually drive away in the distance.

 

Jaehwan gets up to leave. “Well, see you tomorrow, guys,” he says.

 

“Yeah, uh, see everyone tomorrow,” Wonshik echoes, following suit.

 

This leaves Hongbin, Sanghyuk, and Taekwoon.

 

Hongbin sighs.

 

“I should’ve just accepted the fact that he wants us to wear hairnets now.”

 

Taekwoon reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“It’s okay,” he reassures. “Hakyeon just has a lot on his mind. He wants everything to be perfect. Whether it be the quality of the food, the restaurant itself, or the employees, he just wants to make sure everything is the best it can possibly be.”

 

He gives Hongbin’s shoulder a final pat before wishing him and Sanghyuk a good night.

 

* * *

 

Sanghyuk is fumbling with his key ring, trying to find the one for the restaurant so they can lock it up for the night.

 

They’re standing outside the now closed Starlight Subs. Hongbin is leaning with his back against the doorframe, one hand wrapped around the crook of his neck.

 

Sanghyuk finds the right key and twists it in the hole, hearing a _click_ before taking it out.

 

  
“I was thinking about what Taekwoon was telling us,” he says, pocketing the key ring. “He has a really good point.”

 

“How so?” Hongbin asks, taking Sanghyuk's hand as they start walking to their car.

 

“Well, Hakyeon really looks out for us. And for the customers. For the restaurant. Everything, really,” he says, leaning into Hongbin.

 

Sanghyuk continues, “And he knows what’s best. If anything, that shows he really cares. He could’ve totally ignored the reviews and not said anything. But he’s responsible enough to take charge of the situation and enforce what can be done to fix it.”

 

It’s a fairly quiet Tuesday night. The city lights are all on, but the sidewalks aren’t too crowded with passerby. There’s a murmur of conversation from the diners in the nearby upscale restaurants, the sound of wine glasses echoing.

 

Yet, in a strange way, it’s all just background noises. Hongbin feels like he’s alone with Sanghyuk and no one else.

 

They finally arrive at the car, which was almost on the curb due to Hongbin’s miserable failure at parallel parking.

 

“Hakyeon is the type to address situations as soon as they come up. He wants everything running smoothly.  I think we forget a lot that he’s really just a man trying to run a small business,” Sanghyuk finishes.

 

He stops Hongbin before he gets into the driver’s seat. “Let me drive home,” he offers.

 

Hongbin nods and gets in on the other side.

 

As Sanghyuk pulls out from the space, Hongbin takes out his phone.

 

“What are you doing?”

  
  
“Calling Hakyeon.”

 

He lifts the phone to his ear. The phone rings twice before he hears a voice on the other end.

 

“Hongbin, what’s wrong?” Hakyeon asks worriedly.  “Did something happen when I left?”

 

“No, Hakyeon. I wanted to apologize for being such a dick.”

 

“Oh. Go on.”

 

“Yeah. The whole hairnet thing; it just sounded irrational at the time you suggested it, but I thought about it some more---”

 

Sanghyuk makes an obnoxious cough sound from the driver’s seat.

 

“--with the help of Sanghyuk,” he adds, rolling his eyes. “And I realized that you’re just doing your job, you know? Pointing out what's right and what’s wrong. Even if it sounds really random and spur of the moment, all that matters is that you care enough to notice and you do it for the sake of the whole restaurant.”

 

The line goes silent.

 

He hears Hakyeon breath a sigh of relief.

 

“I really appreciate that, Hongbin,” he says contentedly. “I really am trying to do what’s best for the restaurant, even if we realize a little too late that hairnets in the food business is something important.”

 

They’ve hit a red light. Sanghyuk peeks over at Hongbin talking on the phone.

 

He gives him a thumbs up, reassuring that all is going well.

 

“On behalf of myself and Sanghyuk, we will wear the hairnets,” Hongbin says.

 

“That’s right!” Sanghyuk shouts from the driver’s seat.

 

They’re moving now; the light flashes green and they’re almost home.

 

“You’re a great leader, you know,” Hongbin says. “I think so, I really do, I just don’t say it that often.”

 

“Thank you for being so cooperative, guys,” Hakyeon says. “No matter how stubborn you guys get, I couldn’t have asked for better employees.”

 

Hongbin chuckles. “Right back at you, Hakyeon.”

 

He clicks his tongue. “Now, if you guys can convince Wonshik to agree just as easily, that would be great,” Hakyeon grumbles. “He’s definitely going to complain that it’ll ruin his hair.”

 

There’s a pause.

 

Hakyeon adds, “If you guys can get him on board, I’ll let you have all the money in the tip jar this week.”

 

Hongbin turns to Sanghyuk with wide eyes. He mouths, _Tip jar!_ and conveys the message over.

 

“Well, it was nice talking Hakyeon, but we have to phone a certain Kim Wonshik at this moment. Hope you have a lovely evening!”

 

“Thanks again!” hollers Sanghyuk. They’re in front of their apartment complex now, and he’s put their car in park.

 

Hakyeon wishes them a good night and hangs up.

 

They’re still sitting in the car as Hongbin dials Wonshik’s phone number.

 

Finishing their nature documentary on penguins would have to wait.

 

“Hongbin, what’s up?”

 

“Wonshik. About the hair nets Hakeyon wants us to wear. I think it’s an _excellent_ idea….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ReviewSee is South Korea’s closest website to Yelp, so I figured I would include that!


End file.
